Basildon: Town Square planning inquiry begins

Develper Basildon Estate's plans for 495 flats in Town Square rejected by the council in October of last year.

A planning inquiry begun yesterday to determine whether the council’s opposition to the massive homes plan would be upheld.

“The proposal would represent a major long-term investment in the town and it will utterly transform a core area within Basildon town centre, which has, for far too long, languished partly vacant, woefully underused, and increasingly down at heel, into a vibrant new heart for Basildon,” Thomas Hill QC, representing Basildon Estates, told the hearing.

“Basildon town centre has lost its way. It is not performing as a town centre must if it is to survive in the 21st century. It is in urgent need of both physical and functional renewal and is on a well-advanced spiral of decline.”

The inquiry, the second the council has faced in as many months, follows Inspector David Rose's decision to grant developer Orwell the green light to deliver 492 flats in three blocks of up to 17 stories in Market Square.

The council had rejected the Market Square plans and argued at the inquiry the size of the blocks would diminish the cultural and landmark significance of Brooke House – the iconic 13-storey town centre hosuing block built in the early 1960s.

Taking a similar line, Douglas Edwards QC, who had also represented the council in the Market Square inquiry, said: “The adverse impacts of granting permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of allowing this scheme to proceed.

“The appeal proposal has no precedent with the town centre and will have a negative transformative impact. In terms of height, it will overwhelm the surroundings and will fundamentally undermine the pre-eminent role of Brooke House, a critical component in defining the character and appearance of the town centre.”

Government planning inspector Roisin Barret will preside over week-long hearing and then decide on the future of the plans.